Team News
Napoli will be without Victor Osimhen for the opening leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash against AC Milan.
The striker, who has 25 goals for Napoli this season in Serie A and the Champions League, suffered an adductor injury while on international duty with Nigeria and has missed his club’s previous two matches, including a devastating league defeat to Milan.
In addition to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who presumably suffered a career-ending injury earlier this month, Milan will be without Pierre Kalulu. The Frenchman is scheduled to miss out due to a calf injury, leaving experienced defender Simon Kjaer to compete with Malick Thiaw for the opportunity to accompany Fikayo Tomori in Pioli’s backline.
As for Napoli, Osimhen’s absence is a huge setback for Spalletti’s side, as evidenced by that previously mentioned match in Naples. After second-string striker Giovanni Simeone suffered a thigh injury against Lecce, the Italian boss will have to change things up in the attacking third. This could allow Giacomo Raspadori to make his long-awaited comeback to the starting lineup.
Milan vs Napoli Potential Lineups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Rade Krunic, Ismael Bennacer; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-Jae, Amir Rrahmani, Mario Rui; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Milan vs Napoli
Without Osimhen, we’d give Milan a slight upper hand. But while we expect the hosts to take advantage of the Nigerian’s absence and gain a first-leg lead, this tie will likely go down to the wire.
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